All of India may not have been vegetarian all the time. But the importance given to vegetarianism in Indian life for the simple reason we could live without taking an animal life, is an enormous leap in human civilization that the modern West has had a very tough time coming around to accept.

1. Work with Your Hands: There is something satisfying about handiwork, because you can see the physical results of your labor. Whether you're baking bread, knitting a scarf, or weeding your garden, making something with your hands can set your mind on fire.

Trade deals are one subject (one of the very few left) which do not break down on party line. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are split over the issue, so it's not a repeat of the usual partisan battle lines. But it is a clear defeat for Obama, who lobbied hard to very little effect.

Go ahead and tell your kids they're special as much as you like. Celebrate their accomplishments and let them see the proud gleam in your eyes, but make sure they know you adore them for who they are, regardless of whether or not they win or succeed.

It seems clear to me that the tragedy that occurred last week is business as usual in Europe. And that is the real tragedy. But this disaster has no easy solution and therefore there is no easy way to cover it.

On top of the thousands of must-see bands and acts for those attending South by Southwest / SXSW in 2015, I've compiled another list that attendees might find useful as we plot out our days and nights of many music genres playing across Austin next week.

Whether we want news or music, we can program our smart devices to deliver exactly what we want, when we want to hear it. Yet, somehow the allure of the portable transistor radio endures for me, perhaps because it's one of the few things in my life that is still simple.

Because a balanced day is ever shifting and impossible to copy, the only way to solve your personal balance equation is to turn to your inner wisdom -- that voice inside you that tells you exactly what you need.

This week we fans will stroll the streets, swap our favorite Seahawks superstitions, and snap "Twelfies." We'll nod and slap high-fives with neighbors; we'll chat stats as if we actually understand the cool language of numbers.

I spent nearly 20 years disgusted with pesky, relentless, unwanted attractions to other men. I turned to church and Jesus to make me "normal" in hopes that I would like women more. It took me years to recognize just how much harm I done in suppressing and demonizing my desires for other men.